Elena's Story (the Book)
by Alpha Three
Summary: Sequel to "The Hunt". Piper has died, telling Nero to read a book explaining who she really was. Nero found the handwritten book and started to read. Here is what he found. T for potential violence.
1. Dearest Maxie

My dearest Maxie,

I'm up writing all of this at night, sitting here watching you sleep peacefully with a smile on my face. I love you so much, darling.

I owe you an explanation. I'm not who you think I am. I was born Elena Furan, and the terrible woman who is Anastasia is my sister. She always hated me – she and Pietor both. I was the youngest, the surprise child that no one expected or wanted at all.

I don't want to end up like her, like either one of them. I ran away, and they ended up capturing me – but this time there was no Mom or Dad to stop them from hurting me.

They targeted us both, but they had wanted me dead since I was little. I was the favorite, the best one of all of them. I can beat Raven easily, since I **had** to beat them to survive.

I ran away again, reinvented myself, and eventually found you.

I love you so much; I can't bear to tell you this. Maybe I will end up telling you, giving you this to read one day when we are both very old or maybe we'll just live as if I was always Piper. If so, we'll give this to Michael when we're gone.

Don't worry, I'll write and explain more.

I love you.

Elena


	2. Street Kid

Max,

I'm so glad Michael turned out to be so much like you. If he had taken after me – after my side of the family – I would have hated myself.

He was the surprise child anyway, just like I was. The only difference is that he has us, not Anastasia and Pietor to raise him. When I was three or four, my parents died – I didn't lie to you about that, I was really an orphan. But I was stuck with Anastasia and Pietor, both of them adults by the time this happened.

The only reason they didn't throw me out on the street was that the Russian government gave them money for their poor orphaned sister. It wasn't much, but they needed everything they could get to start up the Glasshouse. So that's why I was there – just for the money.

When I was seven or so, the money ran out and they had their Glasshouse, so they dumped me off on the street, only to recapture me later. For the time that I was living on the street, I had to fend for myself. Being so young, I had to find someone to help me, or I would die.

I met this girl who was older than I was, but she looked a lot like me. People looked at us and auutomatically thought we were related. I guess that must have helped, since she took me under her wing (no pun intended). She was our friend Raven. I don't think she realizes that I am that little street kid she found wandering around in her territory, but we are family, of a sort. She was better than any family that I had, anyway.

Love,

Elena *scratched out and changed to "Piper"*


	3. Prison

My Maxie,

Where did I leave off? Yes, I had found Raven, but she was captured with me and taken to the Glasshouse. There I was, back again with my dear brother and sister.

They treated her badly, but I was the worst. I was kept by myself, taken away from the family that I had found, and was beaten for everything. By that time, I knew how to defend myself. I knew how to fight. But it didn't matter. No matter how many of their people I beat fighting during the day, I was always the one in trouble. The gang kids caught on pretty quickly, and knowing that Anastasia and Pietor would turn a blind eye if they beat me up, they took the liberty of trying to kill me every day after the guards had finished their assigned beatings. Needless to say, I always sent them back with a few more bruises and broken bones than they had come with.

If they starved you there, it was worse for me. A meal a day was gracious for them. No matter how malnourished I was, they made me fight, all day, every day. If I was sick, that was fine… just bring out one more guy to try and kill me, and this time give him a rifle.

Basically, I was a high-level prisoner in a place worse than any prison imaginable. There was no way out.

Much love,

Your Piper


	4. Second to You

Max,

Needless to say, I escaped from a place worse than I high security prison. All I had to do was wait for the dead of winter and make a run for it. It actually was pretty easy.

I went to the FBI and the CIA, even Interpol, to see if they could get Anastasia and Pietor in jail, but they did nothing, so I had to find someone better at catching the uncatchable.

I went to the SSK, an organization dedicated to- get this – _**stopping**_ world villainy, where I was one of their operatives for a while. Once I realize what they were actually doing (trying to engineer children for their purposes), I had had enough and left the place, let's just say a little more fire-roasted than it was before.

That's when I made it here and found you. Don't think I stayed only because I thought you could help me. At first, that's why I was here. But then I actually got to know you, and I wanted to stay. Anastasia and Pietor came second to you, and all I had to do was keep them away from you. Obviously that didn't work, but that's a story for later.

Much love,

Piper


	5. Right All Along

Max,

Well, then we got really serious and became "us", and I wouldn't have left you for the world. We got married and then found out about Michael, and things were going pretty well. Then my family came back into the picture yet again, but this time they didn't go after me, they went after you.

You probably didn't know, but they always were hunting me down. I was their first prize, and you were a good second. So they had you as a way to get to me. Luckily, Raven went after you. I would have, but I couldn't because of Michael.

I got you back, and when he was born, Michael was all we cared about. Anastasia was out of the picture, and life was good again. However, she now had another target, one that if she took out, would have affected both of us. I couldn't let her get to you or Michael, and I was constantly paranoid about her finding us.

After the fiasco with Number One and GLOVE, I knew we had to move as quickly as we could. Something felt wrong about it, not just that it was wrong in itself, but that Anastasia had a hand in everything. She had wanted to punish her sister from the very beginning. Little did I know, I was right all along.

Piper


	6. Absolute Violence and Chaos

Maxie,

I was right all along. Anastasia had a hand in everything. Once she had taken us out of the picture, there would be an empty seat on the GLOVE ruling council, which she would have filled herself. After all, she _is_ evil.

She planned to take your spot on the council and kill off Number One, turning them all into an anarchy that she would take control of, making herself look like a hero to the people, the one who saved the council from total collapse after the fall of their leader. Once she did that, she could do no wrong.

But then you surprised her, taking control of the council yourself. But then that was another matter. She could simply kill you, taking out two birds with one stone. And what better way to get to you than through Michael and I? Once she had us in her clutches, she could kill you. She would have the leverage that she wanted. I know you would have come after us had she done something like that, Max. You're just that kind of a person. And when you did, she would have killed us in front of you, and then killed you last.

Thank G-d that didn't happen, Max. We would all have died, and the world would have been thrown into chaos. Without us, without GLOVE, evil would be nothing graceful and tactful… it would be absolute violence and chaos.

Love,

Piper


	7. Nina, Hue and the SSK

Max,

It was at the SSK that I met Nina. My initial impression was not much different than it was now. She was the leader of our team, and totally irresponsible. In short, she was the reason of the failures of more missions than I can count.

Hue served as a balance for her. He was the responsible one of the pair. He at least tried to keep her under control when she came up with her fanatical ideas – most of the time he succeeded. The worst one got one of our team members killed in a mission to Siberia.

When I left them, I still talked to Hue and Nina and kept a check on the SSK. They're really unpredictable… they can't be counted on for anything, and the power struggles are GLOVE worthy. Nina kept reporting on them, but she would spam me a lot (watch your email, Max!), while Hue gained access to the important reports.

Keep them close. No matter how annoying they may be, keep them close... they can help you.

Love,

Piper


	8. Chapter 8

Max,

I love you. Know that I died loving you with all of my heart. Keep family close. Talk to your father. I've been talking to him (you don't know that, do you?). He's a very nice person, and if you can reconcile with him, do it. He's the only one you have left now.

Yes, you won't be happy talking to him at first, but he's your father. Max, he cares, and he loves you, even if it doesn't act like it. Talk to him.

I love you so much. Never forget that.

With all of my love and many hugs and kisses,

Your Angel, Piper


	9. Chapter 9

Max,

I guess you're going to want to know why I lied to you all along. Well, later on it was to protect you and Michael, but at first it was because I didn't want to be who I was – who I am. Anastasia and Pietor were the two most hated people in the world, and I didn't want to be associated with them. It was much better letting everyone believe that they had killed me, that I had disappeared off the map for good.

I got a fresh start when I came to HIVE. I didn't have to be Elena anymore. No one knew me, so they didn't have to know who I really was. I could reinvent myself and pretends like Elena never existed. Nina saw through that eventually, and I think Raven did too. Nina was there when they did the blood tests at the SSK – they check to make sure that you aren't some superhero or anything. They make sure you aren't posing as anyone else, and the results came really close to Elena's profile. They have the world's largest blood profile database, so they couldn't have missed it. Luckily, Nina botched the results and burned the place down (by accident, of course…). I'm pretty sure she suspected something, but she let it drop. We all have our secrets in this business.

Raven trained with me at the Glasshouse. I was the first student there, and they brought her in soon after. I think she knew who I was, or at least suspected it, since the Furans hated me so much.

Well, then we got married, and I could have a new name. I didn't have to be a Furan anymore, not that I had ever asked to be.

I guess this is it. I'm still writing these late at night, and everything here is as it should be. I'm sorry if what you think of me has changed since before you read this. I just wanted to do what was best for all of us.

I love you. I'm sorry. I love you, Max, but I'm so sorry.

Piper

Nero finished reading and closed the book. Now there was no Michael to tell, and Piper was gone. She had always been Piper to him, and she always would be. He stood up, putting the book down on the table by their – his – bed. There was a school to run, and there would be questions to answer and a father to talk to. He'd rather die, but Piper had asked him to at least talk to his father. She had talked to him, after all. He was the only family that was left. Everything she did was for him, for their family. That's what counted.

* * *

A.N.: Perhaps we shall see what became of Nina, Hue, Raven, and the Four... check back for another story, perhaps with a mini-Otto, mini-Wing, mini-Shelby and mini-Laura :)


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